Article of footwear



Sept. 23, 1941. c. E. HOSKER ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR Filed Aug. 1, 1940 I 5 35 JHL/FVZJL [/EEEWUE f'fiasksza f7 am c7 Patented Sept. 23, 1941 UNiTED STATE.

2,256,543 ARTICLE or FOOTWEAR Clarence E. Husker, watertown,,lvIass.,".assignr. to The B. F. Goodrich- Company, New'york," N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,342

2 Claims.

This invention relates to footwear and more especially to athletic shoes having canvas uppers.

In athletic shoes it is desirable to provide for lacing the shoe well toward the toe thereof in order to provide a good fit and proper support of he foot in the region of the toes. Heretofore such shoes, especially where they have been constructed with rubber soles and canvas uppers, have had seams in the region of the toes which have caused discomfort to the wearer.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide an improved athletic shoe of the lace to the toe type having no seams in the region of the toes or forward of the heel portion, to provide a strong anchorage of the laced portion of the shoe, to provide comfort and neatness of appearance, and to provide improved procedure in the manufacture of this type of shoe.

These and other objects will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing.

Of the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the one-piece vamp and quarters with the one-piece lining attached thereto, one end of the upper being separated from the liner to show the method of attachment.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the counter reinforcement and its lining, the counter reinforcement being partly separated to show its construction.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the saddle straps and its lining and binding, the saddle strap being broken away to show the lining and the binding being partly attached to show its construction.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the assembled vamp and quarters with the edge binding and the counter reinforcement, parts being broken away to show the construction.

Fig. 5 is a similar view with the saddle straps attached thereto.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 65 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a section taken on line of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the complete shoe without the laces.

The invention contemplates the manufacture of a shoe with a one-piece vamp, tongue, and quarters free from seams.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral ||l designates a flat sheet of upper material secured face to face to a fiat sheet of lining material H by a layer of waterproof adhesive I2 of rubberh'ke material. The sheets are cut to provide a one-piece vamp l3, quarters l4, l5, and a tongue It, the quarters extending to the center of the rear of the heel.

To reinforce the rear of the shoe a counter reinforcement I1 is formed of a relatively stiff layer l8 of vulcanized rubber and a layer IQ of lining adhered to each other in face to face relation and cut to substantially semi-elliptical shape.

The ends 26, 2| of the quarters are sewed to each other as at 22 and their end margins are folded away from each other as at 23, 24 and covered with a protective strip of tape 25 thereover. The counter reinforcement is then sewed in place interiorly of the heel portion around its upper edge, said edge being covered by a strip 25 of bias tape. This provides a pocket into which other counter material may be slipped if desired.

The saddle straps 30, 3| are also prepared of flat material comprising a facing fabric 32 anda lining fabric 33 united face to face by a layer of adhesive rubber 34. An eyelet stay strip 35 is applied over the lining along the upper margin of each saddle strap and eyelets 36 are secured therethrough. An edge binding 3'! of bias tape is applied to the edges from the sole at the rear to the sole at the front of the shoe. The saddle straps are made relatively wide at the sole with the rear margins extending back to the heel region and the front margins well toward the toe beyond the ball of the foot so as to brace the foot from the instep to the heel and to lace well over the toes.

An edge binding 40 is applied to all upper margins of the upper including the tongue. The saddle straps are then sewed to the upper at their toe margins, as at 4| for a distance from the sole to approximately the eyelet stays and also along their rear margins over their entire extent along the quarters, as at 42. The saddle straps are not sewed to the vamp and quarters along their lower margins but are left free to permit shifting of one with relation to the other in shaping the upper to the last. Preferably the vamp and quarters are notched as at 44, along their lasting edges between the toe and heel and are not attached to the sole along the extent of the notches. This construction permits the article to conform more readily to the foot while the saddle straps carry the vertical load over the arch of the foot.

The completed upper may be lasted over an insole and an outsole attached thereto, as by use of cement. A foxing 5| may be cemented to the upper along the sole.

The construction provides a canvas upper free from seams in the region of the toes and capable of being laced to the toes.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear comprising an upper, a sole attached to the lower margin of the upper around the toe and heel portions and unattached along the sides of the shoe at the instep portions, and saddle straps overlapping the unattached portions of the upper with the lower margins of the straps secured to the sole and their forward and rearward margins attached to the upper, providing independency of movement of the upper and saddle straps in the region of said instep portions, said saddle strap having means for se-' curing them to each other about the foot.

2. An article of canvas and rubber footwear comprising a canvas upper, a rubber sole attached to the lower margin of the upper and around the toe and heel portions and unattached along the sides of the shoe at the instep portions,

' and saddle straps overlapping the unattached portions of the upper with the lower margins of the straps secured to the sole and their forward and rearward margins attached to the upper, providing independency ofmovement of the upper and saddle straps, in the region of said instep portion, said saddle strap having eyelets at their opposing margins for receiving a lace for securing them to each other over the instep.

CLARENCE E. HOSKER. 

